Corner Store

 A liquor store is on the corner of the state line town of Florala, Alabama.





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2023: Sorry, no post on this day.
2022: Sorry, no post on this day.
2021: Sorry, no post on this day.
2020: Sorry, no post on this day.
2019: Sorry, no post on this day.
2018: The Apple In The Eye Of The Beholder
2017: Geometric Perfection
2016: Getting Ready To Hit The Friendly Skies
2015: A Community Of Makers
2014: He Can't Be Trusted Around Electronics
2013: Light As Air
2012: Remember The Living
2011: In The Pink While Manning The Wheel Of A Big Rig
2010: Still Standing
2009: Eddie Dumps It Friday
2008: Vicki Goes Hollywood
2007: Market Flora
2006: Now Where The Hell Did She Park My Truck???
2005: Channeling Angelina Jolie

Oh, Hello There

 

This is one of my favorite photos.  Taken at the Bellingrath Gardens & Home in Theodore, Alabama this little guy surprised me, I didn't see him at first because I was concentrating on the flowers.

Obviously, that's his plan.  To blend.  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2023: Sorry, no post on this day.
2022: Sorry, no post on this day.
2021: Sorry, no post on this day.
2020: Sorry, no post on this day.
2019: Sorry, no post on this day.
2018: Classic Livery
2017: Passing Between The Sun And Earth
2016: Mid-Century Copper Town
2015: Signs Of Summer
2014: State-Of-The-Art Movement
2013: Not My Kind Of Gold Mine
2012: Fat Lou Captured In Rare Photo
2011: Oceanfront Property At Lot 61003/94
2010: Monkey Pod Treasure
2009: Eddie Embraces The Rules Friday
2008: They Have A MAGAZINE???
2007: Planting The Sun
2006: Training Day
2005: Cannonball Run

Bee Natural

 

“The flower doesn't dream of the bee. It blossoms and the bee comes.”

~ Mark Nepo, Poet

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2023: Sorry, no post on this day.
2022: Sorry, no post on this day.
2021: Sorry, no post on this day.
2020: Sorry, no post on this day.
2019: It Took $1000 To Get This Town Named
2018: Go Fish
2017: Flatout New York
2016: Hill Town Transportation
2015: 651 Miles To Go

2014: I May Not Love Your Traffic, But I Do Love You

2013: Astonished That Anyone Could Schedule All Those Things

2012: A World Of Imagination Left Behind

2011: Betty’s Got It Going On

2010: Don’t Miss The Latest On TDR. Today At Eight, Noon, Six, And Midnight

2009: No Hothouse In Sight

2008: ’Till The Cows Come Home

2007: Salt Lake City Special

2006: It’s More Expensive To Say No
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

This Is Talladega

 

Depending on how long you've read this blog or how well you know me will determine whether you're aware that I abhor all things sports-related.  I'm not a fan of any sport of any kind.  Sadly, I've absorbed information about sports in my life and know more than I wish I did about several kinds, but if I had to rank the ones I care about (like if a gun were being held to my head), I'd have to say NASCAR would be at the very bottom of the list. I'd watch dwarf tossing before a NASCAR race.

But, it was Valentine's Day and we were in Alabama, and my beloved (seen below) wanted to tour the Talladega race track.  How could I say no to that face?

The Talladega Superspeedway, formerly known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway, is the fastest and longest NASCAR oval track in the United States.

Its main grandstand can hold 80,000 spectators and if you figure in the areas where people camp and set up RVs for race weekends, the total capacity of the speedway rises to somewhere around 175,000 spectators. 

That's a whole lotta redneck energy.

This is the media booth at the Speedway.  Our guide told us that the window there on the right is where FOX and CBS broadcast from.

Seats in the grandstand range from $60 to $185, with the higher seats costing more. The RV spots located on the infield of the track can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars for a race weekend.  There are even more RV spots on the far east side of the track with plenty of space for fans to gather.

Our guide told us that Talladega hosts only two NASCAR race weekends a year.  The rest of the time, the track sits empty except for a few small events hosted throughout the year.  And the money they make from those two events in ticket sales isn't what sustains them - it's the contracts with the media companies that make them any money.
  

Talladega holds the record for the fastest recorded speed by a NASCAR vehicle on a closed oval course.  That speed was 216.309 mph set by Rusty Wallace in 2004.  He circled the 2.66-mile track in 44.270 seconds.  But, because the record was a radio test and not a NASCAR-sponsored event, the official record of 212.809 mph set by Bill Elliott in 1987 is the one that stands.  Speeds today hover around 200 mph, even though track officials prefer the cars to race a little slower than that citing safety concerns.  

I can't say it was the most romantic way to spend Valentine's Day (although, I did get roses, candy, a beautiful card, a dinner out, and quality time with my handsome husband), but it was something to do on a day off and we have vowed in 2024 to take advantage of as many things as we can when we're on the road with extra time on our hands. 

The interior of the Talladega visitor's center houses the ticket office and gift shop.

It definitely wasn't a bucket list item, but now I can say I've been to Talladega and hopefully, I'll never have to go back.

And let's remember some words of wisdom that work equally well in NASCAR and life, gifted to us by Ricky Bobby himself...

"If you ain't first, you're last." 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2023: Sorry, no post on this day.
2022: Sorry, no post on this day.
2021: Sorry, no post on this day.
2020: Sorry, no post on this day.
2019: Be Anything, But Be Mine
2018: Comfortable Love
2017: I Heart Cats
2016: Sweet And Undefinable
2015: Grand And Important
2014: Winter Is A Table Set With Ice And Starlight
2013: The Romance Of The Road
2012: Celebrate With A Wild Desire
2011: Powerful Stuff
2010: Falling In Love With Ugly 
2009: A Love Like This Can Know No Death 
2008: Peace To This House
2007: The Sultan Of Love 
2006: It’s Even Better Than Arbor Day
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Red Stronghold

A billboard at the Florida-Alabama border, just before entering Florala, Alabama, advertising guns for sale at a pharmacy. 



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2017: On The Way To St. George
2016: Modern Vintage
2015: Happy Labor Day!
2014: Teamwork
2013: Pecan Bacon Syrup. Need I Say More?
2012: That’s Right, The Entire Web
2011: And We Have A Winner!!
2010: So What’s Wrong With A Good Idea?
2009: Where Is A Palm Reader When I Need One?
2008: Fred’s Plan Appears To Have Backfired
2007: Eddie Plays A Round Friday
2006: Don’t Worry, Be Happy
2005: 50 Little Facts About Alaska

Cycle On Down For A Taco Or Two

The OK Bicycle Shop Bar & Grill in Mobile, Alabama.  Don't let the exterior fool you - they serve Tres Leche Mexican Toast, Pork Belly Tacos, and Smoked Duck Nachos here.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
2017: If Only I Could Bottle This...
2016: Climbing The Regal Horned Lizard 
2015: The Valley Of The Temples 
2014: The Day The South Fell Apart...Again 
2013: Island Graffiti 
2012: Four Seasons Of Food To Conquer 
2011: Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head 
2010: As Seen On TV 
2009: Eddie Polishing His Chrome Friday 
2008: Traveling With Your Cat 
2007: Getting Wet In The Next County 
2006: Down With O.P.P. 
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Bee Stop

A few bees seek sweet nectar from a flower in Bellingrath Gardens in Theodore, Alabama.  



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2016: Prepping The Butt
2015: Strangled By The Capital Beltway
2014: Even The Deer Are Bored
2013: Happy "Columbus" Day!
2012: Not So Subtle
2011: Satan Called. He Wants His Weather Back.
2010: If Only I Looked As Good As He Does
2009: What Grandmothers Do When Their Grandchildren Grow Up
2008: The View Of The Valley And Meadow
2007: A Beautiful Dimple In The Earth
2006: Dive The Sky
2005: G-Y-M

Flashback Friday

Today I talked to my best friend Vicki.  Talking to her always turns into stories about our life before (serious) boyfriends, husbands, kids, responsible jobs, mortgages, bills.

We had the best lives back then.  So much fun, so many memories.  We are in our 30th year of friendship.

This picture was taken on a road trip to Alabama for a wedding.  I wish the photo wasn't blurry, it's probably my favorite picture of the two of us.

On the way to the wedding we hopped out of Vicki's Nissan Sentra, set the camera up on the trunk, and used the little remote control (in Vicki's hand) to take the picture.  On the side of the road in the middle of nowhere!  I loved that dress and I remember that I wore flats so I wouldn't tower over Vicki - which didn't entirely work - she has heels on in this picture and I'm still taller than she is!

It feels like yesterday.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2015: Rise
2014: Freshly Dusted
2013: Sockless Monday
2012: Extra Virgin
2011: Eddie Makes An Appearance
2010: Watt A Work Of Art – Part Three
2009: The Clouds And Trees Line Up For Bed
2008: The Shimmer Of The Sea
2007: Indian Gallery
2006: Geography Test
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

The Waffle King Of Ozark

We scored a prime parking spot in front of the Waffle King in Ozark, Alabama.  


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2014: Chocolate Covered Memory
2013: I Found A Few Gifts To Flip For
2012: Barely Surviving
2011: In And Out In A Peachy Keen Flash
2010: Yo, I’m All Over The Place!
2009: Morning On The Willamette
2008: Stupidity Threat Level: Orange*
2007: It’s Like Playing A Record Backwards To Hear The “Real” Meaning
2006: In The Desert, The Clouds Look Like Cotton Candy
2005: Chinky By The Ramada

Happy Little Machinery

This is a piece of machinery used at a paper mill.  The driver said he was taking it to have it repaired.  New, the piece is $600,000.00.  The repair was only going to cost $240,00.00.

What a deal.

The piece of machinery looks pretty happy about being fixed and not discarded.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2014: Yo, Brooklyn!
2013: ALL Weather Is Tarping Weather Now
2012: 132" Of Christmas

2011: Breakdown = Extra Nap Time
2010: Dr. Lettera Said The Very Same Thing, She Just Wasn’t Qualified To Write The Prescription
2009: The First Snow I’ve Seen This Season
2008: Not That There’s Any Reason To Park Here
2007: A Game You Wouldn’t Want To Play If You Were Say, IN The Witness Protection Program
2006: Companionship Is Just A Phone Call Away. Beauty Is Another Story.
2005: Who Stole My Cheese?

Goodnight 'Bama

Alabama sunset on Interstate 20.


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2014: No Fear
2013: A Cozy Little Dinner With My Favorite Bird
2012: Western Winter Sky
2011: Men At Work
2010: Everyone Is NOT A Winner
2009: Text Me
2008: Going The Way Of Astatine*
2007: Picture Perfect Pilot
2006: Not Falling For Winter Yet
2005: I Miss You Already

The Good Deeds Of Summer

Loading in Alabama, with 30,000 pounds of machinery headed for New York.

A few clunks on the trailer during the loading process caused me to open the back door to check on Ed.  The rush of heat that smacked me in the face almost made me forget why I went out there in the first place.

I felt so bad for all the guys working in the heat and humidity (although they're probably used to it), that I cut up a bunch of cold, juicy watermelon, packed the chunks into red Solo cups with a plastic fork for easy eating, and went back outside to hand them out to the six guys working in the heat.

Then I quickly retreated back to my air-conditioned oasis.

Good deed of the day?  Check.



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2014: The Mountain Was Out
2013: Small Town Bullshit. Big City Nothing.
2012: She’s Political Coming And Going And Doesn’t Even Know It
2011: Old As She Was, She Still Missed Her Daddy Sometimes
2010: Crafty Little Bugger
2009: Beauty For A Buck
2008: What My Thoughts Sound Like When Left Uncensored And Ultimately, Formed Into Words
2007: New York Style
2006: I.H.O.P.G.
2005: Sorry, no post on this day.

Go About Three Miles And Turn Left At The Rocket

If you're driving through Huntsville, Alabama on I-565 and you miss this giant rocket - which is the size of a 36-story-tall building - you seriously need to get yourself to an optometrist.

The mighty Saturn V Moon Rocket marks the spot - located at One Tranquility Base - of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC).  It has one of the largest collections of rockets and space memorabilia anywhere in the world.

We haven't visited yet, but say we want to every time we drive by.  We're in Huntsville often, so one of these days we'll definitely be going.

Do you think they sell moon rocks in the gift shop??


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2013: Puffy And Distorted 
2012: A Woman’s Work Is Never Done
2011: Old Timey Road Trip
2010: Are You Ready For Some Football?!
2009: Hangin’ In The Sea Cave
2008: Weekend In Wyoming
2007: Ready For Nautical Knots
2006: Australia Isn’t Far Enough Away For These Bitches To Hide
2005: Texas Suicide

Frozen

The frozen food aisle at an Alabama Super Target.  I was perched on a display case by the yogurt, waiting for Ed to meet me.

Let it go.  Let it goooo.

Yeah, it's been a slow week.


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2013: Working Man And Walking Man

2012: I’m Too Thrifty For My Shirt, Too Thrifty For My Shirt, So Thrifty It Hurts
2011: Except It’s Not Four, It’s ONE
2010: A Few Pictures And Less Than A Thousand Words
2009: Explosions Of Color And Flavor
2008: A Big Gay Case Of Mistaken Identity
2007: Gilding The Shopping Lily
2006: Dog Day Afternoon
2005: Sorry, no post on this day.

The Day The South Fell Apart...Again

We stopped yesterday about an hour south of Birmingham, Alabama because the roads were getting icier by the minute.  Just in the few miles we drove, we saw cars sliding around and the decision was made to pull off and find a place to park.  We sat all night and into the next afternoon before leaving.

Once we hit Birmingham, around the I-65 and I-459, the landscape changed completely.  There were cars in ditches:

And there were cars lining the interstate for miles.  Abandoned.  Most of them on the shoulders and in the median.

But some, like this garbage truck, were just sitting right in the lane of traffic.  With no one in the vehicle.

The only lane of traffic moving here is the one we're in and the one to the right.  Everything else you see are cars parked.  There's a Frito-Lay truck and a UPS delivery truck in this photo, parked on the shoulder to the left.

The cars parked all along the right shoulder, in front of the red one, are all empty.  Not a person to be seen.  It was like a sci-fi movie.  Something drastic happened, the world froze as it was, and the people were gone.

But where did they go??  We heard, on the news I think, that some people were shuttled to local businesses by bus.  And some people walked.  We even saw a guy on a bicycle.  

I don't know how long it's going to look like this, but apparently Atlanta was much worse.  Glad I wasn't there.

And this asshat (and many others) writing about his experience being stuck in his car, clearly has no idea who causes most of the accidents on the road.  Because I can tell you right now, it's highly unlikely that drivers of big rigs "slammed their accelerators to the floor, trying to get their loads moving across the snow and ice".   
Next stop is way out west, to the empty northern states.

They may have a lot of snow, but at least they don't have thousands of people driving entirely too fast for the conditions just to get three cars ahead of you.  Not to mention the fact that they should have stayed the hell home in the first place. 

And honestly, those are the people I'd like to see make a soft (but safe) landing into a ditch.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2013: Island Graffiti
2012: Four Seasons Of Food To Conquer
2011: Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
2010: As Seen On TV
2009: Eddie Polishing His Chrome Friday
2008: Traveling With Your Cat
2007: Getting Wet In The Next County
2006: Down With O.P.P.
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

Calling It A Day

I can't even remember the last time we've had to shut down for the night due to weather - in this case, it happened in the middle of the afternoon, because of icy road conditions.  We did it once before, but since then I don't recall a similar situation.

Once night fell, Ed went to sleep and I stayed up in the cab watching movies on the computer - I wasn't tired and didn't want to disturb him.  The photo above is the view I had for most of the evening.

The roads were so bad - some of the worst weather the south has seen in years - that the only movement I saw was one or two cars who ventured in to the little convenience store/quasi-truck stop and twice a state trooper who drove through with his spotlight, checking out the area, then stopping for about thirty minutes to do some monitoring on his computer.

The convenience store was closed when we got there, I didn't see any headlights from the interstate, and once in a while in the distance I could see the sand trucks drive off one ramp, go over the bridge, and head down the other one in the opposite direction.

We wound up being there for more than twelve hours.  But at least we weren't in a ditch or stranded on the roads like so many of the people reported on the news were.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2013:  Eight Ways To Take It Easy
2012: Dinner With Friends
2011: This Is What Sheer Joy Looks Like
2010: I’ll Have The Tootsie Rolls And The Butterfinger And The Lollipop And The Gummi Bears And The Hershey Kisses And The Snickers Bar And The M&M’s And…
2009: Meals On Wheels
2008: Mercury Dropping
2007: James Cameron For $79.99 A Night
2006: The Town That Big Tobacco Built
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

NOT An Oasis

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of an oasis is as follows:

oa·sis

noun\ō-ˈā-səs\

1.  an area in a desert where there is water and plants

2.  a pleasant place that is surrounded by something unpleasant

3.  a time or experience that is pleasant and restful

The Oasis Travel Center in Alabama?

Doesn't qualify.

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2013:  Drop The Flag And Take Me Home
2012: Cottonwood Trading Company
2011: Service With A Smile
2010: Getting The Red Out, One Barn At A Time
2009: Obamaduck!
2008: How A Four Year Old Can Make You Feel Like Crap For Trying To Get Out Of Doing Yard Work
2007: Florida Fro
2006: Hail To The McGriddle Gods
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!